Alex was the last to enter the RV and immediately noticed Ashley, whom he had last seen in the cursed psychiatric hospital. Ashley was wearing denim shorts with dark yoga pants underneath and a loose red T-shirt. Noticing Alex, Ashley nervously waved her hand in greeting. After all, how could she forget that because of the stupidity of two idiots, Alex had to pull them all out of that cursed place.
Alex smiled slightly and looked at Hannah, Josh's sister, who was feeling a bit nervous in the circle of friends she hadn't seen in a long time. In Hannah's eyes, Alex saw that no one had yet told her what had really happened on Blackwood Mountain. Noticing Alex, Hannah waved at him with a smile. Alex smiled and nodded in response to Hannah's greeting.
While everyone was settling in and happy to reunite after many months, Alex walked to the front of the RV and sat down next to Josh, who was behind the wheel.
"How are you, chum? Feeling better yet? Or are you still seeing Dr. Hill?" Alex asked, sitting in the seat and placing the katana case in front of him.
"Better… I think. After Hannah… well, you know, came back. Our parents were really happy. For her it was just one day, but for us it was a very long year," Josh said calmly, shaking his head slightly.
"I understand perfectly. I hope your parents didn't go too overboard with enthusiasm after Hannah's return," Alex said, patting Josh on the shoulder.
"Oh, they did. We only got back last week from a long family trip. It wasn't even bad," Josh said, showing photos from the trip.
Alex leaned closer to look at the photos Josh was showing. Alex was glad that Josh's family had managed to ease their pain at least a little. Unfortunately, Beth couldn't be saved, and Josh understood that. But everyone continued to stick to the story that Hannah and Beth had been kidnapped by a maniac who had kept them in a cage inside an abandoned mine for a whole year.
And Alex was sure that Josh definitely wouldn't want to tell his parents what had really happened to Hannah. While Alex looked at the vacation photos, Josh told him about the places they had visited. There was a calm smile on Josh's face as he described what had happened during their family trip.
While Alex and Josh were chatting, not paying attention to what was happening in the RV cabin, Chris quietly snuck up behind them.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about? Are we driving or are we just going to keep standing here?" Chris said loudly, slapping the seats with his hands.
"Have you all finished settling in?" Josh asked, putting his phone in his pocket and looking back into the cabin.
Alex and Josh looked into the cabin and saw that everyone was already seated and chatting, waiting for the upcoming trip to the forest cabin that belonged to Jessica's cousin. Seeing that everyone was ready, Josh nodded, started the engine, and began driving. As soon as the RV moved, Jessica got up from her seat and walked to the front, holding her phone.
Approaching, Jessica pushed Chris aside so he wouldn't get in the way. Leaning toward the navigator, Jessica looked at her phone and entered the data to plot the route to the forest house. After setting the route, Jessica calmly returned to her seat and plopped down next to Mike, leaning against him and letting him hug her.
"God, who even buys houses in such a remote place? Where is this anyway?" Chris couldn't help but ask, squatting next to the navigator to see where they were going.
"Mostly maniacs," Alex said with a light chuckle, opening the window to smoke.
"Hahaha. Exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if we arrive and this forest cabin turns out to be a typical maniac's house," Chris laughed, patting Alex's seat.
"Chris, shut up! One more word and you'll be walking the rest of the way! Not a word about all that nonsense!" Emily shouted after hearing Chris's laugh.
Hearing Emily's angry shout, Chris immediately shut up and raised his hands in surrender. At that moment, he really didn't want to anger Emily, and he definitely didn't want to walk to a forest house in the middle of nowhere. Seeing how quickly Chris gave up, everyone laughed at his behavior. Before Emily could continue scolding Chris for his inappropriate words, Matt began comforting his girlfriend to calm her down.
Giving in to Matt's persuasion, Emily huffed and gave Chris one last angry look, making it clear he shouldn't even mention such nonsense anytime soon. Chris shivered slightly under Emily's gaze and forced a strained smile, returning to Ashley for comfort.
Alex, who was watching this, just shook his head and continued smoking, blowing the smoke out the open window. While everyone was getting into vacation mode, a peaceful atmosphere reigned inside the RV, and everyone shared how they had spent their time since their last meeting. No one mentioned anything bad and only shared good news.
Samantha listened to her friends' conversations with smiles on their faces. She was glad that their lives were going normally. She wasn't going to complain that her own life had turned out differently and was very different from normal. But her current life also brought her many interesting and exciting things, even if it happened in a very unique way.
Listening to the conversations from the cabin, Alex finished his cigarette and flicked it out the window. Stretching slightly, Alex decided to stand up and move around a bit. Getting up from his seat, Alex patted Josh on the shoulder, letting him know he was stepping away. Josh, without taking his eyes off the road, raised his hand and waved slightly, showing that everything was fine.
Looking at the road ahead, Alex glanced down at the navigator and realized they would soon be leaving Portland. Nodding, Alex walked to the center of the cabin and opened the mini-fridge to grab something to drink. Holding a bottle of water, Alex leaned against the seat where Samantha was sitting.
"I've been wanting to ask — why are you two dressed so similarly? I didn't expect you to be one of those couples who match outfits," Jessica said, looking over Alex and Samantha's clothes.
"It's actually very comfortable. And most importantly, it's very convenient to move in this kind of clothing," Samantha said, showing off her outfit.
"Yeah, the main thing is comfort. Everything else is secondary," Alex said, leaning on Samantha's shoulders.
"Looks more like you're showing off," Chris said, rolling his eyes and pointing at Alex's body.
Everyone shifted their gaze to Alex. Under his haori, he was wearing a tight black sleeveless shirt with a high collar. Because the clothing fit tightly to Alex's body, one could clearly see the condition of his physique. Chris, looking at Alex, couldn't help but make a face at what he saw.
Mike just calmly nodded, as he had also started working out more seriously after what happened on Blackwood Mountain, just in case. Seeing her friends staring intently at Alex, Samantha cleared her throat lightly, hinting that they should stop staring. Alex just laughed and shook his head.
"Be jealous in silence, Chris. No one stopped you from working out. Or, being part of the Dickfacers, have you suddenly become a great ghost hunter?" Jessica said, wanting to kick Chris.
"Hey, we actually did catch them," Chris objected, trying to defend himself.
"Yeah, we know how you 'catch ghosts.' Running around old houses and screaming like little girls — that's so… cool," Emily said, rolling her eyes at Chris's excuses.
"It's not always like that… The last time everything went fine," Ashley intervened, trying to explain that it wasn't that bad.
"Oh really? What exactly went fine last time?" Mike asked with a smile, looking at Chris and Ashley.
"We were filming an episode in Amityville. And the cursed house turned out not to be cursed. Everything went normally, we stayed there for a whole week," Ashley said, telling them where they had filmed their latest Ghostfacers episode.
Hearing this, Alex and Samantha looked at each other and laughed. Samantha buried her face in Alex's arm to hide her laughter. Alex shook his head, not hiding the fact that he was laughing. He was still amazed at the stupidity of the group of not-so-smart ghost hunters.
After all, he had given these idiots a list of safe haunted places so they could film their stupid show. But even then they had messed up. The reason for Alex and Samantha's laughter was that they knew the real cursed house in Amityville had been burned down by Wednesday because the entity living there had irritated her. Hearing Alex and Samantha laughing, everyone turned their heads toward them, not understanding why they were laughing.
"What are you laughing at? Do you know something about that house?" Matt asked, turning to Alex and Samantha.
"I worked in that house and watched it get set on fire," Samantha said, trying to stop laughing.
"Then what house were we in? I was sure it was the same cursed house where Robert DeFeo killed his family," Chris asked in surprise, staring at Samantha.
"How should I know? We closed the case after someone burned the house down. And forgot about it," Samantha replied, leaning against Alex who was standing next to her.
"So the house really was cursed?" Mike asked, leaning forward to hear more details.
Hearing Mike's question, Samantha looked at Alex, asking if she could talk about it. Alex looked back at Samantha and shrugged slightly, showing she could tell as much as needed.
Understanding Alex's hint, Samantha decided to share a few details with her friends since they had asked. Kissing Samantha on the head, Alex decided to return to Josh so he wouldn't be bored driving alone. Grabbing a drink, Alex returned to Josh and handed it to him.
"Thanks… What were you guys talking about back there?" Josh said, taking the water with one hand.
"About Chris and his group of idiot ghost hunters," Alex said with a slight chuckle, opening the window to smoke.
"Ah, those guys… Chris invited me. Luckily, I didn't agree. It's… a very strange group. And I definitely have no desire to wander around abandoned houses," Josh said, shaking his head and handing the bottle of water back to Alex while keeping one hand on the wheel.
Alex gave Josh a look that said he had done the right thing by not agreeing to that stupid idea. Josh grinned, showing he wouldn't get involved with anything like that. Continuing to sit next to Josh in the front of the RV, Alex put his feet up on the dashboard, enjoying the fresh air.
The RV calmly drove along the highway running through a forested road. Music played on the radio to keep the drive from being boring, and Alex talked with Josh about various topics to pass the time. From time to time, someone from the group would come over to join the conversation or ask how much longer they had to drive.
The last to approach was Samantha, who sat on Alex's lap, leaning against his chest so she could enjoy the fresh air and warm summer sun with him. Leaning against Alex's chest, Samantha closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Hey, Josh. Don't tell me you and Chris didn't think to refuel before the trip?" Mike asked, leaning on the driver's seat and pointing at the blinking signal on the dashboard.
"Aren't they supposed to give us a rental with a full tank?" Chris asked after hearing Mike's question.
"Lord, what is it now?" Jessica asked, coming out from the back of the RV after changing her clothes.
"Someone forgot to fill the tank. We'll have to stop soon," Emily said with clear sarcasm in her voice, pointing toward the front of the RV.
Jessica exhaled irritably and walked heavily toward the front of the RV to see for herself. Chris immediately stepped aside so as not to become a victim of Jessica's scolding. All anyone cared about at that moment was how much farther they could drive and whether there was a gas station nearby. Alex carefully shifted Samantha on his lap and pointed at the navigator.
Leaning forward, Alex pointed out the gas station that was on their route. Seeing that there was a gas station ahead, everyone relaxed, as no one wanted to search for fuel in the middle of nowhere. A few minutes later, a typical remote gas station appeared on the horizon. Josh immediately turned the wheel to pull into the station.
Parking the RV at the pump, everyone quickly got out. Alex was the last to step outside. He stretched slightly, lit a cigarette, and looked around. He saw old rusty pickup trucks parked nearby and several people dressed like farmers sitting outside the store and talking among themselves.
"Ah, the smell of the countryside. Fresh air," Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke and raising his arms to stretch.
"Are you sure that's not the smell of manure? It smells pretty specific," Jessica said, covering her nose with her hand.
"It's fine once you get used to it… Alright, we'll go into the store and see what they have. Chris, Josh, fill up the RV," Samantha said, shrugging slightly.
Samantha led the girls into the store to look around. Watching the girls enter the store, Alex decided to take a look around. His gaze fell on an old pickup truck filled with tools and with a boat tied to the roof. Looking at the truck, Alex thought it looked familiar.
But he just shrugged, not attaching much importance to it. Deciding to take a short walk, Alex waved to Matt and Mike, indicating he would be back soon. The group of girls had already entered the store. Samantha's gaze immediately fell on two men, one of whom was the cashier. In the past, she would have been a little nervous seeing such men, but now she only glanced at them briefly and continued on.
"Can I help you with anything?" the cashier asked, staring intently at Samantha and the other girls.
"We'll look around for now. Do you have any mosquito spray?" Samantha asked, looking around.
"Yes. Last aisle on the right," the cashier said, still with the same intense stare.
Samantha just nodded and walked forward with the girls. Jessica, Emily, Ashley, and Hannah weren't particularly bothered by the strange looks the two men were giving them. When the girls went deeper into the store, the two men followed them with their eyes.
"Man, have you seen how kids look these days," the cashier said, looking at the man who was paying for his items.
The man just grinned at the cashier's words and continued paying. Meanwhile, the girls continued browsing the store, taking items off the shelves and examining them. Breaking away from the group, Hannah looked around the store, picking up items and inspecting them.
Picking up another item from the shelf, Hannah flinched slightly when she saw a chubby man with a beard and a worn old cap on the other side of the rack. Noticing Hannah's gaze, the man flinched and quickly grabbed a jar of pickled eggs from the shelf and hurried away. Hannah blinked, not understanding what had happened, and put the item back.
She wasn't scared of the man, but rather surprised by what had just occurred. Continuing to look around, Hannah returned to the other girls, who were still choosing items. If Alex had been in the store at that moment, he would have recognized the two men who were also shopping there.
At the same time, Alex was near the gas station. Following his intuition, Alex decided to look around, thinking that everything felt too much like a typical plot. Standing at the very top of a tree, Alex carefully scanned the surroundings, looking for anything noteworthy that could give him a clue.
But all he saw was forest and a river flowing in the distance. Stroking his chin, Alex exhaled cigarette smoke and took a step forward. Falling from the very top of the tree, Alex landed neatly on the ground and prepared to return to the gas station.
He thought that if something were to happen, he would just deal with it and continue resting. With his hands behind his head, Alex stepped onto the road. Crossing the road, Alex walked slowly toward the gas station. Walking around the RV, Alex noticed a chubby man standing in front of his group, leaning on a scythe.
Seeing this man, Alex slightly raised an eyebrow. The man looked familiar to him. Shifting his gaze to the side, Alex saw the second man and grinned. Realizing who they were, Alex just chuckled at such a coincidence. Putting his hands into the sleeves of his haori, Alex walked forward.
"Hey, what's going on?" Alex asked with a friendly smile on his face.
As soon as Alex's voice sounded, everyone turned their heads in his direction and saw him walking toward them. The man with the scythe, who had tried to start a conversation with Hannah, flinched and turned his head. When Alex saw the man's face, he was finally convinced that it was Dale, and the second man was Tucker. Alex knew these two weren't bad people, so he continued smiling with a friendly smile, which made Dale relax a little.
"Nothing. This man just came over to talk to Hannah," Samantha said, pointing at the chubby man.
"Oh, I see. Are you a local? We're here for the first time and don't know anything about the area," Alex said with a friendly smile.
"Ah… No. I'm Dale. I mean, I'm Dale, and my friend Tucker and I bought a country house here and we're also here for the first time," Dale said quickly in a nervous tone, nodding toward the pickup truck where Tucker was standing.
"Sorry to hear that. Nice to meet you, Dale. Unfortunately, we need to keep going," Alex said with a smile, walking over to Samantha.
Alex placed his hands on Samantha's shoulders and began gently pushing her toward the RV. Dale was so confused by Alex's friendliness that he froze in place, watching everyone leave. He remained standing there, still thinking about Hannah, whom he had seen. Dale only came to his senses after Tucker patted him on the shoulder.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go already," Tucker said, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"I wasn't standing there. That guy was just so friendly. And I messed everything up again," Dale said gloomily, shaking his head.
"You didn't mess anything up. He was just a regular friendly guy. What's wrong with that?" Tucker said, taking the scythe from his friend's hands and heading to his pickup truck.
"Guys like him always have girls around. I just wasn't blessed with looks," Dale said in an offended tone, getting into the pickup.
Tucker just patted his friend on the shoulder and offered him a beer to cheer him up. Meanwhile, Alex was calmly sitting in the front seat next to Josh. Dale's appearance had only lifted everyone's mood because of how awkward he was. They especially laughed at how Alex's appearance had made Dale even more nervous.
Listening to their conversations, Alex just rolled his eyes. After all, he couldn't say that Dale was a very kind guy, just very awkward in social situations. Samantha, sitting on Alex's lap, lightly poked him in the cheek, asking him a question with her eyes.
Alex understood what she was asking and nodded, showing that Dale and Tucker were just ordinary guys who had come to a country house, just like their group. Seeing Alex's confirmation, Samantha smiled and snuggled closer to him.
"Phew, I thought this was going to be like those creepy horror movies about the middle of nowhere," Emily said, leaning back in her seat while holding a beer.
"What did you expect? That someone would gnaw your face off? You should watch fewer of those movies," Alex said, looking out from behind the seat at Emily.
"Yeah, right. If it weren't for Jess's invitation, I wouldn't have come to a place like this," Emily said, turning to Alex.
"Why not? It's perfectly ordinary wilderness. Where a family of cannibals might live. And at night we'll have to run through the forest from them. And it'll be either us or them," Chris said, nodding with a satisfied smile on his face.
"Oh really? And what are you going to fight them with? A piece of log? Or are you going to build traps, smart guy?… Oh, right. You'll sprinkle salt on them. How could I forget," Jessica said sarcastically, looking at Chris like he was an idiot.
Hearing Jessica's sarcastic tone, Chris grinned, adjusted his glasses, and began listing all the ways to fight ghosts that he had learned. While Chris was bragging, everyone wanted to tell him that the conversation wasn't about ghosts at all. And to add fuel to the fire, Emily took out her tablet and played one of the Ghostfacers episodes where Chris had appeared.
To show how everything had gone wrong and that all of Chris's words were nothing more than boasting. While Chris was talking, Emily calmly fast-forwarded the episode, and at that moment a loud male scream — that sounded more like a female one — rang out through the RV. Everyone immediately recognized the scream as Chris's. They all turned their heads to the tablet screen, and Emily paused it right at the moment showing Chris's terrified face as he ran from something.
Seeing his own scared face, Chris immediately froze, trying to say something. Looking at Chris's frozen expression, everyone burst out laughing. Alex and Samantha, sitting in front, were also laughing. Ashley was laughing at her boyfriend too, since she hadn't been present for the filming of that episode for personal reasons. And she was glad she hadn't been there.
"The great and terrifying ghost hunter in all his glory. I almost believed you, Chris," Mike said, holding back his laughter as he patted Chris on the shoulder.
"Hey, it really was scary there. You just didn't see the ghosts," Chris said irritably, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever you say, buddy. Whatever you say," Mike said, shaking his head and ignoring Chris's irritation.
Listening to all these conversations, Alex just laughed, enjoying the calm atmosphere. Even though they were talking about ghosts, it all sounded like a joking topic rather than anything else. Samantha was also enjoying the kind of atmosphere she had missed a bit. Josh, sitting behind the wheel, wasn't participating in the conversation but was still enjoying the company of his friends.
Still, he occasionally glanced back to check on Hannah. At first, Josh was worried that such conversations might bring back memories for his sister from the time when she had been a Wendigo. But seeing his sister laughing in the company of her friends, Josh breathed a sigh of relief and continued smiling, occasionally shouting a few phrases just to annoy Chris.
Half an hour later, driving along the forest highway, Josh turned the wheel and drove onto a forest trail to reach the forest cabin. Carefully driving along the path, Josh moved forward slowly so as not to tip over.
Noticing that the RV had entered the depths of the forest, everyone immediately moved to the front of the vehicle. Jessica immediately took out her phone to give directions on where to go and where to turn so they wouldn't get lost.
After a few minutes of driving along the bumpy forest trail, the outline of the forest cabin belonging to Jessica's cousin became visible. Everyone had initially thought that a forest house in such a place would be in terrible condition. But as the RV got closer, everyone could see that the house was in quite good condition.
Alex, noticing the forest cabin, clicked his tongue slightly and received a smack from Samantha. After all, how could she not know what her husband was thinking at that moment. Even though she had thought, like the others, that the house would be old and abandoned. Samantha definitely didn't want to spend several days in an old dilapidated house that might also be cursed.
Josh drove up to the forest house and turned off the engine. Everyone immediately began getting out of the RV and looking around. Alex and Samantha took their backpacks and katana cases and exited last. Looking around, Alex nodded, satisfied with what he saw.
There were many green trees around, the air had a pleasant fresh scent, and the sounds of birds could be heard everywhere. Stopping his observation, Alex and the guys began unloading the things from the RV while the girls went into the forest cabin to look around and choose rooms.
"Phew, it's so hot. I'd go for a swim in the river right now," Chris said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Once we settle in, we can take a walk to the river. It's nearby. Pete said the river is close and there's even a pier," Mike said, lifting the mini-fridge and bags.
"Sounds great. I wouldn't mind that either," Alex said, picking up bags of food and the grill.
Alex continued chatting with the guys as they carried the bags into the forest house. Entering the forest cabin, Alex saw a rather cozy interior with a fireplace, above which hung a stuffed deer head. There was a fairly large sofa that could seat several people, several armchairs on either side of the sofa.
A small table with an old gas lamp stood against the wall. Alex couldn't help but nod at what he saw, as this was the most typical forest cabin. And the nicest thing was that it wasn't too dirty inside.
Setting the bags aside so they wouldn't get in the way, Alex's eyes flashed for a moment as he used his magical vision. He wanted to make sure the house definitely wasn't cursed and that there were no cursed objects in the basement that someone might stupidly pick up.
"It could use some airing out. The house is decent, but the smell… Ugh," Chris said, covering his nose with his hand.
"Then open the windows and shut up. Mike, I picked our room, let's go," Jessica said, coming out of a room and giving Chris a blank look before dragging Mike with her.
Chris just rolled his eyes and went to find Ashley to see which room they would be sleeping in. Emily immediately went after Matt, making him carry the bags to their room. Watching the guys disperse, Alex just chuckled. Chuckling, Alex looked at Samantha, who had come out of a room at the end of the corridor.
Samantha pointed at the room, showing that this was where they would be staying for the next few days. Alex nodded and went to put away his things. While Alex unpacked, Samantha opened the window and quickly tidied up the room. She didn't want to sleep in a room full of dust and stale air.
"The guys want to go to the river. You coming?" Alex asked, taking things out of his backpack.
"Of course I'm coming. Did I bring a swimsuit for nothing? I wouldn't mind swimming a bit. And not in the sewer," Samantha said with a slight laugh, sitting on the bed and starting to unpack her backpack.
"Well, who knows. Maybe you decided to tame Bambi's mom and roam the forest," Alex said, laughing as he looked at Samantha.
"Only you would do something like that. And yeah. How is it here?" Samantha asked with a smile, then looked around.
Alex understood what Samantha was asking and gave a thumbs up, showing that the house wasn't cursed and there was nothing dangerous in it. Seeing Alex's confirmation, Samantha breathed a sigh of relief and lay down on the bed while Alex unpacked. Thinking that the vacation would take place in a safe house, Samantha couldn't hold back a smile as she began to enjoy the rest.
Seeing the smile on Samantha's face, Alex also smiled and walked over to the window to smoke while the others unpacked their things as well. Leaning on the windowsill, Alex looked outside with a slight smile on his face. At that moment, he had only one desire — to swim a little in the lake and relax.
To be continued...
(So, we've finally reached the Cabin in the Woods. First, it's just the usual rest. And if you recognize the two characters Alex and his group met at the gas station, I recommend watching that movie again. For those who haven't seen it, it's called Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It's pretty funny. So, what's next? Hmm... I won't say. Okay, time to eat. Peace, love, and don't wander the woods alone. If you see a forest monster, know that it won't eat you while you're covered in shit.)
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